1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of parts holding devices such as vises or the like, and more particularly to a novel fast-acting vise having a manually movable jaw set capable of being rapidly deployed on a base which may be mounted on a universal support for ease of part orientation.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In the past, it has been the conventional practice to employ a vise having a jaw set between which parts are held so that a workman can readily perform manufacturing or fabricating procedures on the part. In this connection, one jaw of the jaw set is generally made movable so that it may travel towards and away from the other jaw in order to provide a clamping function on a part disposed between the jaws. The movable jaw is sometimes slidably mounted on a rod which is then releasably secured in a selected location by means of a thumbscrew or turning key fastening arrangement.
Although the prior vises have been successful for handling large parts where speed, precision and size of part are of no concern, difficulties and problems have been encountered which stem largely from the fact that the procedure is slow when handling relatively small, delicate or precision-made parts such as employed in the electronic industry. Furthermore, other problems have been encountered due to the fact that the materials of the vise are subject to contamination and cannot be used in environmentally controlled clean rooms or the like. Although some prior vises have been made movable in the sense that they can rotate about a central vertical axis, full articulation of the vise for orienting the part held between the jaws is generally unavailable or is restricted so as not to provide a completely articulated movement.
Therefore, a long-standing need has existed to provide a novel parts holding device which includes a clamping jaw set that may be manually operated by the left or right hand and wherein one jaw or the other can be selected for movement. Also, means for quick disconnect of a selected jaw to the base is advantageous so that the clamping action can readily be released or set at the will of the user. Also, such a means should include a clamping vise which is mounted on a work positioner so that a universal movement is available for full articulation of the vise so that the workpiece or part may be readily oriented for convenient fabrication or handling of the workpiece. Furthermore, the vises and positioner never need lubrication so as to avoid any contamination.